DWFest: Best Friends
by Nehszriah
Summary: Five stories, 200 words each, multiple Doctors; written for Doctor Who Fest on tumblr


The following was written for Doctor Who Fest on tumblr. The prompt was "favorite companion" or "best friends". I went with the latter.

Five stories, 200 words each, multiple Doctors.

I don't own Doctor Who, blah, blah blah.

Also posted on my writing tumblr

* * *

She didn't know it at the time, but that day when their friendship began became the most important day of her life.

She stayed with him longer than either had ever expected. It was only supposed to be a quick run, an adventure or three, but he never stopped running. He never paused for even a moment. Amid love and loss they stayed at one another's side, supporting one another through life.

The times when they were apart… she could not stand them. The worst was when they were forced to separate and he traveled with _others_. Not to be catty, but she was oftentimes jealous when he'd come back, talking about someone new seemingly every single time. She even met a few of them, sad to say—she liked a few, others not so much.

Still, she stayed with him. Their relationship, although not a marriage, became one of itself. Old and new, borrowed and blue, stretched across ages and outlasting stars; it was love, no mistaking it. For better or worse she loved him, even if she did give him more sass than he asked for.

The TARDIS loved her Doctor, and she knew he loved her back.

* * *

"Grandfather, I think I need to attend school."

The Doctor looked at Susan with a quirked eyebrow. "You've finished school already on Gallifrey. What could you gain by going to school here?"

"I want to learn about humans. These Gallifreyanoid beings… you have to admit they're interesting."

"Of course they are dear, but won't you be bored? They're rather simple creatures."

"Simple isn't that bad. Why else would we run here? We're exiles, Grandfather, and exiles need to learn how to adapt."

It was tough to say no when she put it like that. The next day they walked down the road to the nearest school, claiming she missed a few years due to travel. The secretary was surprised; the last of the war orphans should have gone off to uni by now. War orphans? Surely, humans did not have some sort of telepathy… they were too primitive. The Doctor sat smugly at dinner that night, knowing Susan was nervously debating whether or not to attend as planned.

She went though, and came back with all sorts of stories. He listened patiently and allowed her to paint a picture of these creatures he never could.

Her instinct had been right.

* * *

He hoped he remembered correctly.

The Doctor, now on his thirteenth face, stepped out of the TARDIS. He glanced around; it was a quiet day, with no alien invasion to thwart. Then again, could he count as an alien invasion? He'd rather not think about that, actually.

Sauntering along, the Doctor nodded politely and smiled at the local passersby. He was still getting used to this new face, with wrinkles and eyebrows and eyes that were very capable of showing surprise, which caused for one or two odd looks. No matter though.

As he walked, he almost ran right over a flower cart. The Doctor apologized and bought some of the lady's wares (with his chip allowance, no less), in order to keep from making a scene. The added load hindered him, but he kept the flowers. He liked the flowers.

Eventually the Doctor turned off the road into a fenced-off and well-kept lawn, giving the caretaker a nod. After finding where he needed to go, he laid the flowers in front of a stone and sat down on the grass.

"It's me. New face. Thought your Kate was going to murder me for it. She knows her stuff. Thanks."

* * *

An explosion rattled the TARDIS, sending the Doctor toppling into the console. A quick check of the controls proved that it was not something in the time vortex, so it had to of come from the inside.

…and there was only one other person on the inside of the TARDIS.

The Doctor straightened his hat and huffed along the hallways until he found Ace's room. Smoke billowed from the room as he opened the door, revealing the teenager using her duvet to smother a small fire that had started in the dead center of the room.

"What _are_ you doing in here?" he asked. Ace, now satisfied with the lack of flames engulfing her bedroom, took off her safety goggles and grinned.

"Just experimenting with some stuff I picked up in the last spaceport, Professor." The grin on Ace's face was one of pure adrenaline and joy. "I've almost gotten it down pat—just have to adjust the mixture levels and I'll have the perfect explosive."

"Alright, alright, just make sure you don't perfectly explode us out of the time stream. You know how I hate needing to readjust the time stream."

"Don't you worry Professor—I'm a good girl."

* * *

Donna Temple-Noble was, in short, _furious_.

To start, her temp job, which was supposed to have lasted a year, had just terminated her after four months due to budget constraints. Her car then would not start, her husband's phone had died without his knowledge and she could not contact him, _and_ to top it all off, her pick-me-up latte had spilled all over her front.

Sitting down on the park bench, she closed her eyes and lifted her face towards the warm sun. It felt good and distracting, but not distracting enough for her to ignore that someone sat down next to her.

"Get your own bench," she said.

"Mocha americano with an extra shot of espresso, two sugar and cream."

Donna looked and saw that the tweed-jacked stranger was holding out a coffee. She cautiously took it.

"Thank you. How did you know my order?"

"I was in the shop when you ordered." He took a sip from his own cup and brushed back his floppy hair. "You know, sometimes all you need is for someone to be nice to make a day that is rather awful to turn right around."

"Thanks." Donna sipped the coffee and smiled faintly.


End file.
